Adult Field Trips

Our adult field trips are a great way to travel a little further afield and experience natural history first-hand with friends and family. Whether it’s a field trip with Highlands Center staff to a local nature preserve or a guided tour or presentation at a regional science or nature-related organization, we’re sure you will enjoy these special outings offered in the Spring and Fall. sdkfa;skjd

Behind the Scenes at the Desert Botanical Garden

with Lee Atonna, Tina Wilson, and Dr. Shannon Felberg

The Desert Botanical Gardens is celebrating its 80th year of being a national leader in education, conservation, and research. Join us in a guided tour of this outstanding facility as Tina Wilson, Director of Horticulture, and Dr. Shannon Felberg, Conservation Biologist, demonstrate how DBG has remained at the forefront in horticulture and desert plant species research. Tour includes stops at propagation greenhouses, Evolutionary and Conservation Genetics Laboratory, Herbarium, the Hazel Hare Center for Plant Science, and Learning Lab.

Tour will require participants to travel by foot through the Desert Botanical Garden. Participants need to bring appropriate footwear, sunscreen, a hat, and a reusable water bottle.

Past Trips

Tonto Natural Bridge

with Steve Van Slyke, Linda Stromquist, and Greg Horner

In November, we traveled to Tonto Natural Bridge State Park to explore one of Arizona’s unique geological features! Tonto Natural Bridge is the world’s largest travertine bridge and was created by an extraordinary combination of volcanism, sedimentation, erosion, and chemical reactions. Geologists Linda Stromquist and Greg Horner and Highlands Center Naturalist Steve Van Slyke guided our participants through geological history in this interactive field trip.

Behind the Scenes at Embry-Riddle Planetarium

with Eric Edelman

In June, we took a trip to the Embry-Riddle Planetarium! The Jim & Linda Lee Planetarium is the only one in central and northern Arizona and offers an amazing 360 degree experience. They provided a special showing and behind-the-scenes presentation to teach us more about what it can do and help us get up close and personal with the night sky.

Have questions about visiting the Planetarium?Click Here for Frequently Asked Questions

Hassayampa River Preserve

with Eric Hough

In March, we took a guided tour of the Hassayampa River Preserve! This 770 acre preserve presents a unique opportunity to experience a riparian oasis within the Sonoran desert.

For most of its 100-mile course through the desert, the Hassayampa River flows only underground. But within the preserve its crystal clear waters emerge, flowing above ground throughout the year. This lush streamside habitat is home to some of the desert’s most spectacular wildlife. Yet many of them have become dangerously imperiled as riparian areas have disappeared from the Arizona landscape. -The Nature Conservancy

Butterfly Wonderland

with Adriane Grimaldi

In November, we took a behind-the-scenes tour of Butterfly Wonderland in Scottsdale with Education Director Adriane Grimaldi. The trip began with an introduction to the organization by Adriane Grimaldi as well as a first-hand experience tagging a monarch to assist with the monarch tracking program!

Once inside the museum, we were able to travel virtually to Mexico to experience the monarch migration first hand with the help of some 3D glasses and their amazing short film, “Flight of the Butterflies.” It was so beautiful! You really had the sensation of being in the forest surrounded by butterflies. From there, we visited the emergence gallery to see the butterflies emerging from their chrysalises and then the butterfly conservatory, where we were surrounded by so many different species of butterflies!

Participants had free time to explore the other galleries in the museum as well as the restaurants and stores that make up the Odysea in the Desert Complex before finally reboarding the bus to return to Prescott.

Museum of Northern Arizona

with Dr. Dave Gilette

In August, Dr. Dave Gilette gave us an insiders tour of the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, complete with stories of his early days as a paleontologist riding around in a pickup truck with dinosaur bones in the back.

Have you been to the museum to see the Therizinosaur skeleton? Did you know that the first bone that was found in this skeleton was from one of the toes? Or that it is believed that this dinosaur only ate plants despite coming from carnivorous ancestors?

We learned a lot about the discovery of the Therizinosaur and the evolution of paleontology in the American Southwest in this informative and educational trip.

Highlands Center for Natural History

The Highlands Center for Natural History helps children and adults discover the wonders of nature and become wise caretakers of the land.

Established in 1996, the Highlands Center for Natural History is a science-based non-profit organization (501(c)(3)) developed to foster an appreciation for and knowledge of the natural wonders of the Central Highlands of Arizona. Operating on an 80-acre campus near Lynx Lake through a Special Use Permit with Prescott National Forest, the Highlands Center is a hub for lifelong learning, designed to invite discovery of the wonders of nature through on and offsite programs reaching over 15,000 children and adults a year and supported by contributions from individuals, corporations, foundations and community partners.